Visit Kent – What to do
While you stay at the hostel we know from our customers that our local knowledge of places to visit Kent can enhance your stay. So below is a small list of sites of interest that you may want to visit. We can’t promise but if you have any specialist interest let us know and we will see if we can help in exploration this while in South East England.
As you can see from the map of Kent we have many sites of interest. This is in addition to the local facilities and sites of interest. Within the hostel we also have a “Take one” cabinet of many of the local attractions. The hostel can also arrange Bike hire, give information on local churches, and suggest alternative local activities.

Margate
Distance: 1km
Margate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in East Kent, England. It lies 38.1 miles east-northeast of Maidstone, on the coast along the North Foreland, and contains the areas of Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook.
Points of interest:

1 – Broadstairs
Distance: 3km
Broadstairs is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent. Bleak House in Broadstairs, on the far northeast tip of Kent adjoining Margate, is where Charles Dickens stayed with his family for at least one month every summer, from 1839 until 1851, when he was becoming established as a successful writer.
Points of interest:

2 – Ramsgate
Distance: 6km
Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century and is a member of the ancient confederation of Cinque Ports. It has a population of around 40,000. The Harbour has the unique distinction of being the only harbour in the United Kingdom awarded the right to call itself a Royal Harbour.
Points of interest:

3 – Sandwich
Distance: 18km
Sandwich is a historic town and civil parish on the River Stour in the Non-metropolitan district of Dover. It was one of the Cinque Ports and still has many original medieval buildings, including several listed public houses and gates in the old town walls, churches, almshouses and the White Mill. While once a major port, it is now two miles from the sea, its historic centre preserved.
Points of interest:

4 – Deal
Distance: 25km
Deal is a town in Kent, England which lies on the English Channel, eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town. Close to Deal is Walmer, a possible location for Julius Caesar’s first arrival in Britain.
Points of interest:

5 – Dover
Distance: 36km
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent’s administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings.
Points of interest:

6 – Canterbury
Distance: 18km
Canterbury is an historic English cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a local government district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour. Many historical structures remain, including a city wall founded in Roman times and rebuilt in the 14th century, the ruins of St Augustine’s Abbey and a Norman castle.
Points of interest:

7 – Maidstone
Distance: 71km
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, 32 miles (51 km) south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it with Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town’s trade as the centre of the agricultural county of Kent, known as the Garden of England.
Points of interest:

8 – Rye
Distance: 87km
Rye is a small town in East Sussex, England, which stands approximately two miles from the open sea and is at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede. In medieval times, however, as an important member of the Cinque Ports confederation, it was at the head of an embayment of the English Channel and almost entirely surrounded by the sea.
Points of interest:

9 – Winchelsea
Distance: 92km
Winchelsea is a small town in East Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately two miles (3 km) south west of Rye and seven miles (12 km) north east of Hastings. The town stands on the site of a medieval town, founded in 1288, to replace an earlier town of the same name, sometimes known as Old Winchelsea, which was lost to the sea.
Points of interest:

10 – Hastings
Distance: 106km
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex, within the historic county of Sussex, on the south coast of England. In historical terms, Hastings can claim fame through its connection with the Norman conquest of England; and also because it became one of the medieval Cinque Ports.
Points of interest:

11 – Tonbridge
Distance: 94km
Tonbridge is a market town in the English county of Kent, with a population of 30,340 in 2007. It is located on the River Medway, approximately 4 miles north of Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles south west of Maidstone and 29 miles south east of London.
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12 – Brighton
Distance: 168km
Brighton is a town on the south coast of Great Britain. The ancient settlement of “Brighthelmstone” dates from before Domesday Book (1086), but it emerged as a health resort featuring sea bathing during the 18th century and became a highly popular destination for day-trippers from London.
Points of interest:

13 – Royal Tunbridge Wells
Distance: 101km
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a large town and Borough in west Kent, England. The town came into being as a spa in Georgian times and had its heyday as a tourist resort under Beau Nash when the Pantiles and its chalybeate spring attracted visitors who wished to take the waters.
Points of interest:

14 – Edenbridge
Distance: 124km
Edenbridge is a town and civil parish in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. The town’s name derives from Old English language “Eadhelmsbrigge” (“Eadhelm’s Bridge” in Modern English). It is located on the Kent/Surrey border on the upper floodplain of the River Medway and gives its name to the latter’s tributary, the River Eden.
Points of interest:

15 – Sevenoaks
Distance: 93km
The town’s name is derived from the Saxon word “Seouenaca”, the name given to a small chapel near seven oak trees. Sevenoaks gives its name to the Sevenoaks district, of which it is the principal town, followed by Swanley and Edenbridge. The presence of Knole House, a large mansion, led to the earlier settlement becoming a village and in the 13th century a market was established.
Points of interest:

16 – Central London
Distance: 120km
London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. London is a leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence.
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17 – Greenwich, London
Distance: 111km
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian (0° longitude) and Greenwich Mean Time. The town became the site of a royal palace, the Palace of Placentia from the 15th century, and was the birthplace of many in the House of Tudor, including Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.
Points of interest:

18 – Chatham
Distance: 68km
Chatham is one of the Medway towns located within the Medway unitary authority, in North Kent, in South East England. Chathams’ historic Dockyard has been redeveloped into a museum featuring the famous submarine, HMS Ocelot, major naval buildings remain as the focus for a flourishing tourist industry.
Points of interest:

19 – Rochester
Distance: 73km
Rochester is a town and former city in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. The town was for many years the favourite of Charles Dickens, who lived nearby at Gads Hill Place, Higham, and who based many of his novels in the area. Rochester Castle, built by Gundulf of Rochester, has one of the best preserved keeps in England or France.
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